State Sen. Joseph Griffo renews fight to ensure confinement for those who plead insanity

Provided photoThe stabbing death of 6-year-old Lauren Belius, has brought into focus the laws that govern defendants who are found not responsible by reason of mental disease. State Sen. Joseph Griffo, of Rome, is sponsoring legislation that would have such defendants serve the same amount of time in a mental health facility that they would in prison if found guilty of the crime.

In the wake of the trial of a Sherrill man who fatally stabbed his girlfriend’s 6-year-old daughter, state Sen. Joseph Griffo has renewed his fight to make sure defendants who plead insanity or mental illness are committed to a mental health facility for the time they would have otherwise served in prison for their crimes.

On July 19, David Trebilcock fatally stabbed Lauren Belius 24 times as she lay in bed with her twin sister, Erica.

Earlier this month, Oneida County Judge Michael Dwyer ruled that Trebilcock was not criminally responsible for his actions because of mental disease or defect. During the weeklong bench trial, psychiatric experts testified that Trebilcock was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

Dwyer ordered that Trebilcock be held in a secure mental health facility for a minimum of one year, and reevaluated every two years.

The victim’s mother, Allison Belius, said she felt “shock and disbelief” at the outcome of the trial and the uncertainty of Trebilcock’s detainment.

“Every two years, we have to live through this again,” Belius said Tuesday at a news conference at Griffo’s office in Utica.

Last week, she started a petition for harsher penalties for child killers on Change.org that has already garnered more than 10,000 signatures.

Belius said she believes Trebilcock manipulated the legal system to avoid jail time.

“He knew what he was doing,” she said, sitting behind a photo of her twin daughters in a frame that read, “Twice as nice.” Her older son, Nolan, sat next to her, whispering to his mother throughout the press conference.

Griffo, (R, C, IP-Rome), said he introduced his bill last June after reading that Jared Loughner, the gunman in the Arizona shooting that injured U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was pursuing an insanity defense. Griffo also cited the possible release of John Hinckley, the man who shot President Ronald Reagan and was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

“It just troubled me to think that those individuals – despite their horrific crimes – could be released back into society,” Griffo said Tuesday. “I believe the system needs to be changed.”

The legislation was not approved last year. Griffo said he has reintroduced the bill and will work to find a sponsor from the state Assembly.

“If we had something like this in effect, we could have given this family the peace of mind that this type of individual would serve his time, whether it was in a mental institution or a correctional facility,” Griffo said.

He said he hopes the legislation would also serve as a deterrent.

“If you plead a certain way, it will not be easier for you to get back into society,” Griffo said. “You will not be able to escape the fact that you committed this crime. You will have to serve time for that.”

Griffo said he would also pursue other legislation on behalf of the Belius family, including the classification of first-degree murder when victims are children and victim’s rights at trials.

Belius made several comments about the trial, including her disappointment that a statement that her son gave to police about an interaction between Trebilcock and his sister was not brought up in court.